Stop the Jenny McCarthy Bashing

People are really up in arms about Jenny McCarthy coming to sit at the big girls table on The View. First of all, I am going to go out on a limb here and say that she was not hired to sit there and spew any kind of anti-vaccine agenda. She was hired because she has brings something unique to the table, not to mention that she is beautiful, well spoken, funny, likeable, (yes, likeable) and because she has strong opinions.

She has opinions about vaccinations and many other topics too. And she is perfectly entitled to them. She has done hours upon hours (upon hours) of research on the topic, whether other people agree with her conclusions or not. None of us live with her or her son. None of us can speak to her personal experiences, or those of anyone else for that matter.

Having been a playmate or on MTV does not disqualify her from becoming an educated adult and parent, as some have indicated. If you made any questionable decisions in college, does that disqualify you from doing whatever it is that you are doing today? Does it make you any less qualified to decide whether or not you want to home-school your child, send your child to daycare, feed your child high fructose corn syrup, or vaccinate your child? No, it does not.

Personally I agree that vaccinating children has saved many, many lives and I believe that if we could get vaccines in third world countries we could save countless more. This is what has led me to be a proponent of Shot at Life. Children around the world could benefit so enormously if they had access to vaccines.

Yet I also believe that medicine in general needs to become substantially more personalized. For example, with information about a person’s genetic resistance and DNA they can potentially know what an individual’s body can handle before pumping vaccinations, antibiotics, or any other chemicals into their systems. That is just my opinion (and we are a long way off from that becoming a reality anyway), just like you may have your opinion and Jenny McCarthy may have her opinion.

People think Jenny McCarthy is dangerous. I don’t see it that way at all. She has done tons of research on the topic and has the means to get her findings to the public so that they can make more informed choices for their children. She is trying to help in her own way. It is up to us as parents to determine what is best for our families. It is always up to us.

Getting back to The View, let’s give her a chance to sit at the table and show us what she is made of before we rip her to shreds, shall we? After all, how many people thought that a Survivor contestant not far out of college would have been at that table for a decade, not to mention a best-selling author or a co-host on Fox & Friends? And while we are on that topic, does having been a contestant on Survivor make Elisabeth Hasselbeck any more qualified to write a book about being gluten-free than it Jenny McCarthy for writing a book about her experience with her son. No, it does not. Nor does it make a talk show host more qualified to become the founder of an all-girls school in Africa, or a former actor the President of the United States. People change. They grow up and they learn, either from experience, from research or from a combination of the two.

I, for one, think Jenny McCarthy was a terrific choice. (You may disagree. After all, we are talking about being entitled to opinions here, right?) Having been around since 1997, who knows how much longer viewers will be able to, “take some time to enjoy The View.” Let’s give Jenny McCarthy a chance to enjoy her seat at the table.

Comments

I think Jenny McCarthy is a great choice for The View. It’s about time they have someone that’s not afraid to buck tradition and go against the follow. She’s not telling people what they should do she is sharing her own personal views and opinions. I, for one, think she is right. People need to take a closer look at what they are having injected into their children. I hear more and more horror stories everyday about bad medicines from the pharmaseutical companies. Sheeple need to wake up and pay attention. Oooppps…stepping off soap box. Thanks for sharing a different perspective.

Hey, she drove me BANANAS in Singled Out and some days I still roll my eyes at her…LOL.

I agree with you 100%. She’s a strong woman and she’s ideal for the View (Hello?? They’ve let Elizabeth be on that show HOW long now and she’s the same way, just a right winged conservative). Let’s give her a shot. She may not be accurate in 2013 with her claims but I give the gal credit for going to bat for her son, being an advocate, and being one of the first people to really speak out about all this 5-7 years ago when there was very little info out there. She educated me back in 07 when I was expecting – enough that I knew I had a choice and I could have the conversation with my son’s Dr. about vaccines and timing. And that’s what I did.

I’m with you on the topic of ‘to each their own’ on opinions. How people decide to raise their children is their own business. The whole point of The View is to have a wide range of topics and opinions. If all the women agreed the show would be pointless. I’m sure they are bringing in Jenny to give a fresh look on some not only popular topics but also important. Plus I’m sure the controversy helps ratings 😉

agreed. and didn’t she recently come out and recant her opinions after there was definitive evidence from studies that she was wrong?
my googling skills are not with me today. But I remember reading something like that. Anyone?

So I admit to being someone who feels like Jenny McCarthy is a dangerous voice–but I appreciate your perspective. My feeling is that although everyone is entitled to their own perspective and opinion, she uses her voice to spread misinformation that has been discredited- and yet, she continues to advocate. As far as The View hiring her–it was incredibly smart on their part if for no other reason than there is so much talk about her and the show that it has to help ratings–all press is good press– right?

I appreciate your perspective here. She is smart, funny and talented. And they knew what they were doing when they hired her; I sure The View’s producers are not surprised by the controversy one bit. Jenny McCarthy and I are the same age, and actually attended Southern Illinois University together. She was in two of my classes there, though I don’t remember her being particularly outspoken or really standing out. I disagree with her stance on vaccinations, but she is entitled to her opinion, as we all are.

Debating hot topics too often turns personal. I believe in discussing issues based off facts alone and not insulting the other person. I very strongly disagree with many of Jenny McCarthy’s views, but I don’t dislike her as a person. I think it’s absolutely fine for people to scrutinize what she’s advocating to the public, based off ideas and the topics alone (And leaving the Playmate bashing out of it, or whatever) I have good memories of watching her sitcom as a teen in the 90s, LOL.

I think ABC knew there would be backlash like this and they wanted it. The more talk, the more people will tune in. It doesn’t matter to me who sits at the table; they’re just people like we are and their opinions mean no more and no less than anyone else’s to me.

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